Hall attended Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, where he studied English literature and was taught by poet Paul Muldoon.

[2] Hall's most commercially successful work is Billy Elliot, the story of a North Eastern English boy who, in the face of opposition from his family and community, aspires to be a ballet dancer.

The inspiration for the screenplay was drawn, in part, from the A. J. Cronin novel The Stars Look Down, which is also set in an English coal mining community during a strike, and similarly tells the story of a miner's son who goes against the grain.

[3] The character Billy was also partly inspired by the renowned baritone Sir Thomas Allen who came from a similar background, having been born in the North East's County Durham.

He has also translated plays by Carlo Goldoni, Bertolt Brecht and Herman Heijermans and co-written the screenplays for adaptations of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice and Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows.

Hall's play, The Pitmen Painters, inspired by art critic William Feaver's book on the Ashington Group, premiered at the refurbished Live Theatre in Newcastle upon Tyne in 2007.

[7] His most recent TV work is an adaptation of Nigel Slater's Autobiography Toast, starring Helena Bonham Carter and Freddie Highmore and set in Wolverhampton, West Midlands.

[11] Kidron is a child rights advocate who has played a determinative role in establishing standards for online safety and privacy across the world.